WASHINGTON – When a Maryland court found that pitbulls were ‘inherently dangerous,’ landlords and dog owners worried they would both be presumed liable in any dog bite case.

But Maryland Delegate Lou Simmons says he has come up with a bill that could find a balance between victims of dog bites and dog owners.

“There was absolutely no scientific evidence to say that a pit bull was inherently dangerous but that, for example, a rottweiler was not,” he says.

Simmons says his bill would do away with the notion that any one breed of dog is inherently dangerous and it would not force dog bite victims to have to prove the dog owner knew their dog was dangerous.

“What we do is to not only restore what was the common law, but in my view to restore sanity to Maryland’s law regarding animals and animal bites,” Simmons says.

A hearing on the bill could be scheduled before the end of the month.

WTOP’s Kate Ryan contributed to this report. Follow @WTOP on Twitter.

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